Black-headed duck
species of bird
The black-headed duck (Heteronetta atricapilla) is a South American duck in subfamily Oxyurinae of family Anatidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Taxonomy and systematics
The black-headed duck is the only member of genus Heteronetta and has no subspecies. It is closely related to the "stiff-tailed" ducks of genera Nomonyx, Oxyura, and Biziura.
Description
The black-headed duck is the most basal living member of its subfamily, and it lacks the stiff tail and swollen bill of its relatives. Overall much resembling a fairly typical diving duck, its plumage and other peculiarities indicate it may not be a very close relative of the other stiff-tailed ducks, but rather the product of convergent evolution from the ancestors of the stiff-tailed ducks.
The black-headed duck is about 35 cm (14 in) long. Males weigh an average of about 510 g (18 oz) and females 565 g (20 oz). The species has a distinctive shape, with a long body and disproportionately short wings. Its bill has a black maxilla and an orange mandible; the maxilla has a rosy patch at its base during the breeding season.
“Black-headed duck” enters the record as species of bird. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Black-headed, duck and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Black-headed duck” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Black-headed, duck and species provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q596050. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Black-headed duck”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Black-headed duck primary sources, Black-headed duck archive and Black-headed research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Black-headed duck”?
- Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Black-headed duck” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.